Perfect pitch: Bliss magazine

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Type of article: Reports, real-life stories, case studies, emotional features, celebrity interviews. I probably commission about two to three features a month, and the rest is done in-house. Generally, I avoid commissioning out anything that can be done in-house – for example, an interview with a celebrity that we can gain access to ourselves.

How to pitch: Send me an email (amilburn@panini.co.uk) with your ideas. They need to include the headline, sell and a brief description of what the feature will be about.

Post-pitch: I try to get back to people in 24 hours, but email after a few days to check.

What will impress: Someone who understands the magazine and how it’s laid out. Great headlines/sells always stand out, too.

What won’t impress: Someone who has no idea what the magazine is about or who it’s aimed at. Freelances who send me entire features; I don’t have time to read the whole thing, a brief will do. Freelances who send in ideas for topics we should cover, rather than a feature idea. A feature idea needs an angle, and to explain why/how we should be covering this topic now.

Rate: It depends on the feature idea, the amount of research, how long the feature will be, the experience of the writer, so fees are calculated on a case-by-case basis.